From the future with love
by Anima Hunter
Summary: Ted and Sophie had always grown up together, but at some point they would have to depart. Will they share a love like Christian and Ana, or miss their chance to try? Read on to find out what type of future they may or may not have together. ( Story set after the books, so SPOILER for those who have not read them all.) Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

From the future with love

As I gaze out of the window, I hear the hacking cough of Teddy from behind me. I turn to see Christian sitting on the end of Teddy's bed, his eyes swimming in anxiety. In rare moments like this, I see Christian's inexperienced childhood still effecting him. I sigh and look at my two boys.

" Christian, it's perfectly normal for children to get coughs and colds at this age. You didn't have to miss work for this." I tell him, and he surrenders a glance to look at me. I feel a pure sense of happiness as I watch Christian's eyes dart back to Teddy lying on his bed. Years ago, I was the only one he would ever consider loving like this.

" It appears you've taken the day off too, Mrs Grey." He smirks, glancing at my pyjamas and bed hair. I feel my cheeks burn at being caught out, which is followed by a quiet laugh between struggled coughs. Both me and Christian's eyes dart to Teddy, who is going through another one of his many coughing fists this morning. Though I know this is normal, my heart still stretches in pain at watching my own child suffer like this.

" Mr and Mrs Grey?" I hear Mrs Taylor's voice from Teddy's doorway. I look over to see her standing with Teddy's favourite breakfast, soldiers on toast, and also notice another figure standing behind her. As Mrs Taylor walks into the room, she is followed by Sophie.

" I wouldn't stand too close to Teddy, sweetheart." I warn her, and she stops a couple of paces away from Teddy's bed.

" Will Teddy be alri-" Sophie begins to ask, but soon begins to cough as Teddy has done.

" I'm afraid that Sophie has taken the day off sick too, Mrs Grey." Mrs Taylor says apologetically. I notice that Sophie is able to cope better with her illness than Teddy due to being the older one of the two.

" He'll be fine, don't worry." I say to both her and Christian, who still refuses to take his eyes away from Teddy for a moment. _Still so protective, fifty._

" When can me and Sophie play outside?" Teddy's whisper of a voice asks. I walk over to him and place my hand on his head, testing his temperature.

" It won't be too long, but it depends on how much breakfast you'll be willing eating today." I say to him. Teddy begrudgingly picks up his toast and begins to slowly bite around the sides of it.

" I wonder where he gets his lack of appetite from?" Christian asks, and I glare at him and his abrupt change in mood. My glare is greeted with a small smile that soon spreads across my own face.

" Let's leave Teddy to rest, dear." Mrs Taylor suggests, walking towards the door. Sophie looks at Teddy and waves goodbye.

" Bye Ted, I hope you feel better!" She croaks, and then follows her mother out of the door. Teddy watches her go, his eyes glaring at the door frame after she had gone.

"Smitten." Christian mimes to me with his lips, and I smile in response. We both stay with our sickened son, watching young love blossom in his blue eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

From the future with love – Chapter two

I see Teddy and Sophie walking back from school together as per usual, approaching the house. I soon hear a pair of keys rattling in the door, which is followed by voices.

" No fair, just because you go to High School doesn't mean that you get the last of the chips!" Teddy aggressively wines. From the next room, I hear the sound of the plastic chip box being caught between battle.

" Let go, Teddy! You got them last time!" Sophie declares, as I hear both of them brawling. I smile, cherishing the moment when I finally convinced Christian it would be better for Teddy's development to walk to and from school, rather than have Sawyer take him every day. I didn't want Teddy to miss moments like this.

" Fine, have them!" Sophie surrenders loudly, and I soon hear a crash and the sound of chips catapulting across my house. I stop myself from running towards the sound, knowing that Teddy has most likely hurt himself like always. I wait a moment, hovering by the doorway and listening intently. It's quiet for a while.

" Teddy, I'm sorry. Please don't cry. We can share the chips, okay?" Sophie's gentle voice soothes.

" I'm not crying!" Teddy protests, and I roll my eyes at him and Christian's growing similarities. I then hear another strange noise from the room.

" Phoebe, you shouldn't eat those!" Sophie's alarmed voice rings, and at that cue I walk hurriedly into the room. As I suspected, Teddy is stood wiping tomato sauce off of his trousers from where he and it had landed on the floor. Two pairs of guilty eyes look up at me, as my youngest child is delightfully eating chips off of the floor. I sigh at the mess and pick up Phoebe, who is also covered in Tomato sauce. I look up to see Teddy and Sophie standing next to each other, their heads bowed down in shame.

" Were you two fighting again?" I ask in a calm tone, and am replied with two slow nods.

" Well, you should both start cleaning this up. Otherwise poor Mrs Taylor will have to do it. Again." I add with a stricter tone. Ted and Sophie both lower to the ground and begin picking up the chips.

" And what do you say?" I ask them both suggestively.

" Sorry." They reply in synchronisation. I turn, and whilst I walk away, I see a drop of tomato sauce on Phoebe's cheek. I kiss her to remove the mark, which is followed by a little squeal of delight. As I turn the corner, I glance once more at Teddy and Sophie.

" No, Ted, the other cheek!" Sophie says to him as Teddy hopelessly wipes the back of his hand over his face. Sophie sighs and then reaches towards him and and carefully wipes the tomato sauce off of his face. She giggles as his face turns the same shade of red. Sophie stands up and picks up her bag.

" Well, this was fun. See you tomorrow morning!" She exclaims happily, walking out of the front door and closing it behind her. Teddy stays sitting on the floor whilst starring at the closed door, with the box of the only remaining chips held in his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

From the future with love – Chapter three

I watch as Mr and Mrs Taylor hug Sophie goodbye, her last remaining boxes being put in the boot of the car by Sawyer.

" Mum, I said I'll call. University is meant to be a happy time in my life!" Sophie says with extra enthusiasm, wiping away the tears that are now invading Mrs Taylor's face. I watch Taylor, and for the first time notice a solid emotion on his face: Sadness. I feel my stomach turn, realising one day that I will soon have to let Ted go like this. As the family say their final goodbyes, Christian and Ted walk out of the front door and onto the driveway with the rest of us. Christian wraps his arm around me, and I hold back my tears. After seeing Sophie grow up alongside Ted, I'd become very fond of her. From a sweet little girl, she had grown into an amazing woman. I look to my left to See Ted awkwardly standing between the house and Sophie. Ted has grown up too, and is now going through his teenage phase. Although I know he's trying to protect his dignity, I also know that he's probably the most upset about Sophie leaving. Except Mrs Taylor, perhaps.

" Ted! You've come to see me go?" Sophie says in an happy voice, as she walks towards him. Ted lifts up his head, his bold shoulders becomes tense.

" Uhm. Yeah, I guess I did." He admits, a smile finally breaking through. Sophie and Ted stand facing each other wordlessly, and tears start to escape my eyes. Christian squeezes me to him, and I know he knows exactly how I feel. In my own little world, I had always hoped for romance between Ted and Sophie. They've always been together, through sickness and in health, and it almost seemed certain that one day they would get together. But as I see the sun raise further into the sky, I realise that perhaps that was hoping for too much.

" Thank you for everything, Ted. We'll still stay best friends, right? Even when I'm miles away?" Sophie asks, her voice hitching in hope.

" Of course. Always." Ted replies, his face beginning to turn red. Sophie pauses for a few moments to examine his face, smiling. She walks towards him with her arms open, and Ted manages to copies her actions. They both stand there, the sun continuing to rise, as the car engine is turned on.

" Bye, Teddy." I see her mummer to him. She places a gentle kiss on his cheek, and quickly turns and climbs in to car. We all stand and wave goodbye as the car begins to roll away.

" I love you!" Sophie yells out of the window, as she waves back to everyone. Mrs Taylor continues to weep and is comforted by her husband. After a short while, we all begin to walk back into the house. I hear the door shut slowly behind me, and turn to see Ted sunk down to the floor, leaning his back against it. He leans his head back and shuts his eyes, as if trying to remember all those years ago when they used to fight in the exact same spot over silly things like food. I then hear him silently admit the words that came just too late to mean anything:

" I love you too."


	4. Chapter 4

From the future with love – Chapter four

" I wanna put the star on the tree!" Phoebe wines at Christian, and I soon hear her giggling. I look up from my paperwork to see Christian swirling her around in circles, fits of laughter erupting out of her.

" She has such a perfect laugh." I say idly, watching them both swirl around the Christmas tree.

" She must have gotten it from her mother." Christian says, his eyes connecting with mine. I roll my eyes at him, and enjoy the reaction I get from his dehydrating eyes.

" Up!" Phoebe commands, and Christian instantly goes back into daddy mode. I sigh, realising that both of my children had inherited Christian's bossy attitude. I watch as he lifts Phoebe up to the top of the tree, so she can place the star on it. She smiles in glee of her triumph. I hear a crisp packet rustle, and turn my head to see Ted standing and looking at the tree.

" Look Teddy, The star! The star!" Phoebe exclaims whilst running over to her brother. Ted surrenders a rare smile, crouching down to lift Phoebe up and into his arms.

" Be gentle with her. You're stronger than you think." I warn Ted cautiously, suspiciously eyeing his biceps.

" It won't be long now before you come close to beating me at boxing." Christian laughs, as he pretends to throw a fake punch in Ted's general direction.

" I could beat you right here, right now, old guy. You may have learned from a great trainer, but I got to learn from you." Ted says, his strong attitude being no surprise.

" Old guy?" Christian asks, raising his eyebrows in amusement. I get up from the table and take Phoebe out of Ted's arms and away from their brawling.

" Mum, you know we'd never fight with Phoebe around. Especially not at Christmas." Ted adds sarcastically. Before I can reply, I am interrupted by the doorbell. Everyone's eyes look towards the sound, and then the house is filled with joyous shrieks.

" Sophie! Sophie you're home!" Mrs Taylor's voice yells from the front door, as me and Christian look at each other with the same happiness in each others eyes. We rush to the front door, where Sophie and a taxi man stand in the snow. Christian pays the man without a word to anyone, and nods in gratitude to the taxi driver. I see the short look of shock on his face from seeing the Grey household in live action before the door is shut. Sophie shakes the snow off of her dark pink coat, as Christian offers to hang it up for her.

" We weren't expecting you back for Christmas." Christian says, smiling and hanging up her coat. Sophie hugs her mother, who is weeping into her shoulder.

" I wasn't expecting to make it home, but I managed to get the work I needed to get done on time." Sophie informs us.

" You should have let us know. I could have driven you home." Taylor's voice comes from the bottom of the stairs. Sophie manages to escape the arms of Mrs Taylor and runs towards her father, both of them joining in a tight hug.

" I wanted it to be a surprise. Besides, I didn't want to make you or Sawyer have to drive in this weather!" Sophie laughs, pulling away from her dad. I look up to see Sawyer give a nod in appreciation to Sophie's kind gesture, and then turn and leave the room after understanding what the commotion was about.

" Where's Ted?" Sophie asks, looking at each of our faces. I look around and realise that Ted hadn't followed us. I look at Christian who is already walking back to the tree. He quickly returns, shrugging at me. I look at Sophie, and I can see that she's slightly hurt that Ted is the only one who isn't here.

" He won't be far, I'm sure. I'll go and find him." I announce, and I see the gratitude on Sophie's face. My heart begins to hope again for romance between them, and I wonder why Ted is acting so strange. Surely he would want to see her? I remember back to when she had left almost 2 years ago, and those final words Ted had said that she hadn't had heard. I go upstairs and knock on Ted's bedroom door. After a long silence, I hear his voice.

" Come in."


	5. Chapter 5

From the future with love – Chapter five

I walk into Ted's room to find him sitting on the edge of his bed. I slowly go and sit next to him, carefully choosing my words.

" Sophie's downstairs." I gently say, and he sighs in response.

" Yeah, I know she is." He admits, running his hand through his copper-like hair. I decide now is the right time to tell Ted the thoughts and hopes I had had for him and Sophie, knowing that neither of us may get another chance at this.

" Did you mean what you said when she left?" I risk to say, his eyes dropping to the floor.

" I guess you heard that, huh?" Ted asks, and I place my hand over his.

" You need to tell her. She won't be staying very long, Ted." I rub my thumb on his hand to comfort him, feeling his nervousness under my skin. I look at his eyes, but nothing is given away.

" I can never pick the right words or the right time." He says in aspiration. I remember the feeling, like a suffication on the heart, and I again think about my words before saying them.

" It's not where, when or how. It's the words you say." I reply. Ted shrugs in response, and I realise my words aren't helping. I try to place myself in his mind, and come to a conclusion: This is a talk he needs with his dad. I stand up, and Ted looks up at me, his eyebrows dropping slightly in confusion. I smile and raise my hand towards his face, stroking his cheek gently. I look at him straight in the eye, and I see his memories click from when Sophie had done the exact same action all those years ago.

" I think she's always liked you, Ted. Let me go and get your dad, this is something he could help you with more." Ted numbly nods, and I exit the room to find Christian walking out of our bedroom. We both pause and look at each other for a moment, words unneeded.

" I'll talk to him." Christian says, walking towards Ted's room. As he passes me, he delicately brushes his hand against mine. A comforting electricity forms between us, and my hopes for Ted and Sophie's romance are once again supported by hope.

After about half an hour, both Ted and Christian walk into the living room where everyone is gathered by the fire. I watch Sophie's face lift as she sees Ted, and in a split second she runs towards him. Ted opens up his arms and they both join in an embrace, his face nuzzling into her neck. I watch his eyes close and I cross my fingers in the hopes that soon, maybe even tonight, he'll talk to her.

" Hey Teddy." She says, kissing his cheek as she pulls away. As if on cue, Ted's face becomes red. Sophie smiles, as I see them both remember their last encounter.

" He gets the constant blushing trait from his mother." Christian jokes, breaking the tense atmosphere of the room. People laugh, and Sophie and Ted come to sit down on the Sofa.

" Has university been going well?" Christian asks in politeness, and I know that he is trying to edge Ted on to taking interest.

" It's been amazing, thank you for asking. In fact, I was just about to tell mum something really exiting!" She replies, and we all listen intently to what she is about to say. Sophie shyly looks to her left, and I notice that this isn't like her usual, confident self. She adds a shy smile and I, a couple of seconds too late, realise what she is wanting to tell us. Her words break through the warm air like ice.

" Well...I've...I've met someone."

I hear Phoebe's wailing cry breakout from her bedroom upstairs, after the door of the living room had been slammed shut by my now desolate son.


	6. Chapter 6

From the future with love – Chapter six

" We've looked everywhere, Sir." Sawyer's neutral voice informs Christian, who is pacing frantically up and down the living room.

" I'm s-sorry, so sorry..." Sophie struggles to say between weeping. Mr and Mrs Taylor sit either side of her on the sofa, stroking her arm and hair gently.

" Sophie, this is nobody's fault." Christian attempts to soothe her, but his main attnetion is obviously directed elsewhere. I glance out of the window for the hundredth time, wondering where Ted could have gone in such thick snow. His tracks were covered by the time we had realised he'd left the house. Amongst the tears and aggressive phone calls, I hear a door slam. Everyone instantly stops and looks towards the sound. Nothing. I walk towards the doorway, handing Phoebe over to Christian. Our eyes meet in worry, and his free arm blocks my path. I look at him desperately, but his head shakes sternly. He looks at Sawyer, who is already existing the room, his hand instinctively over his gun pocket. We all hold our breath. Sawyer is gone for longer than usual, and real panic begins to invade my heart. _Where's Ted? What has he done?_

Finally, Sawyer returns with an empty expression on his face. I feel my body unable to take in any oxygen as I impatiently wait for an answer.

" Mr Theodore Grey has something to ask Miss Taylor." Sawyer says in a plain voice. Behind him, Ted appears covered in snow. My heart swells at the sight of him, completely unharmed.

" Sophie." He says is a panting voice, the snow in his hair dropping onto the floor. We all look at Sophie, who has jumped up from the Sofa at the sight of Ted. She slowly walks towards him, glancing at me briefly, unsure of how to react. Ted finally says something, his words rushed and starved of breathe.

" Sophie, I love you. I always have loved you. We've seen each other cry, and laugh, and grow up. I...I can't lose that. I won't lose that! I know you love this other guy, but I had to tell you. I love you. I love you. God, I love you Sophie." The room is shocked full of silence, the only sound being Ted's heavy breathing. Sawyer's cough interrupts the tension, and we all slowly look up to where he is standing, a large box in his hands.

He and Ted exchange an understanding glance at one another, and I know that this was the reason that Sawyer had taken so long when investigating. Sawyer presents the box to Ted, who removes its lid. A familiar smell invades the room. I then see Ted remove a smaller box from the larger one. I then realise: It's a chip box. With fresh chips in it. _He went out in the snow for those?_ I continue watch in amazement as Ted walks towards Sophie. Sophie's face is frozen in pure shock, as he holds the box towards her.

" It doesn't matter if you don't feel the same as I do, we'll always be best friends. Always. No matter how many miles away you live, or who you live with." Ted says sincerely. My eyes fill with water, enormous pain filling my bones, thinking about how many times I had imagined this moment; knowing the hours Ted had thought about saying those words. I look at Sophie, her expression still frozen in shock. Ted gives her a small smile, and gently steps closer towards her. He delicately strokes her cheek, and tears begin to leak from her eyes.

" I love you." She finally says through joyous sobs, and the atmosphere in the room is uplifted. Ted quickly places the box on the table and places both his hands on Sophie's face. He kisses her. I hear Mrs Taylor wailing in the background, people clapping, as I watch Sophie finally wrap her arms around Ted's neck. When they both eventually pull away, they murmur something to each other that I can't make out. I look at Christian, who is already looking at me. He releases Phoebe who runs towards the tree, not understanding what had just happened, desperately wanting to open her presents. Christian walks over to me, and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. Before he can say anything, Sawyer walks into the room with a wine bottle of Bollinger Grande Année Rosé 1999. Wordlessly, he pours out a glass for everyone. Ted wraps his arms around Sophie from behind, kissing a spot below her ear. They both smile, giddy in young love. Sawyer passes a glass of wine to both me and Christian, and we both go to take them. However, Christian's hand blocks my path. _Oh, right. _Sawyer analyses me for a moment, and then I see him understanding. Christian nods at him, and Sawyer walks away.

" How does he know?" I ask Christian.

" It's his job to know." Christian says simply, as his hand moves towards my stomach. He gently rubs it, and I smile at the thought of such a perfect Christmas.

" Maybe you'll make it in time for the wedding, Blip 3." Christian says to my tummy, and I laugh in response.

" Still such a beautiful sound." He says, and I shyly blush. I look over once more to my first Blip, now madly in love with his childhood sweetheart. And at this, I know the future will be filled with love.


End file.
